Parliamentarian drs. Mervin Wyatt-Ras: Minister Arends instructs coalition to vote against pro-SABA motion

This is the first time I’ve seen this

That is what the parliamentarian of the Aruban People’s Party (AVP) indicated happened this week during the public meeting for the treatment of the supplementary budget 2023 and that he considers it important for the people to be aware of it.

In addition to forcing Aruba’s Parliament to deal with a supplementary budget that is not based on reality, as the advisory board himself has pointed out and warned, the Wever-Croes Cabinet is flagrantly instructing those who should be people’s representatives, how to vote on motions.

For Wyatt-Ras there is no doubt that the government wants to hide with one finger the real situation of our island, which through all measures has affected the most humble citizen, as well as the small businessman. “What’s the point of making progress in admission, but people don’t have bread to put on their tables, they are deprived of water, electricity, they can’t pay for gasoline to take their children to school, they can’t pay more for school, uniforms have become more expensive, etc”., the parliamentarian told the press.

In an attempt to come to the defense of the common citizen and specifically of a vulnerable group such as our elders, the AVP presented a motion during the public meeting as it could not continue to see Minister Ursell Arends explain the dispute with SABA over the amount of the subsidy. The summary case is affecting both the salaries of employees and the entire management of the entity.

Wyatt-Ras: So the AVP has filed a motion to hand over the money needed to meet the staff, which is running behind schedule, in addition to what the government itself requires of SABA, for example an audit of the books which costs 125,000 florins a year, not including the annual bill and what that costs. The intention of the AVP is to ensure that the care of our elderly is of a high quality, the parliamentarian affirmed.

Unfortunately, the minister himself took charge of the meeting, and as is customary in this coalition, asked the parliament not to support the motion. The petition was, as expected, fully complied with by MEPs and RAIZ parliamentarians.